Car door



Jana 39336 T. MADLAND 29@279599 CAR DOOR Filed May 8, 1955 4Sheets-Sheet 1 5G I Jg-j 2&27599 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q iww mm T. MADLANDJan, M, 119369 CAR DOOR Filed May 8, 1955 Jane 14, 1@3@ T MADLAND2,@2?,59

CAR DOOR Filed May 8, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 T. MADLAND Jam 114 19362&27599 CAR DOOR Filed May 8, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 14-,1936 CAR DOOR Thorvald Madland, Chicago, 111., assignor, by mesneassignments, to 'Ehe Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application May 8, 1933, Serial No. 669,857

16 Claims.

This invention relates to sliding car doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide sliding car doors whichshall be frictionally supported in closed position.

A further object is to provide sliding car doors which shall befrictionally supported upon a track in closed position and be movableupon antifriction means along said track to full open position tocompletely expose the door openings controlled by said doors.

A further object is to provide sliding car doors carrying hangerscomprising rollers disposed within the vertical margins of said doorswhich shall be frictionally supported upon a track in movement upon saidrollers along said track to full open position to completely expose thedoor openings controlled by said doors.

A further object is to provide sliding car doors carrying hangerscomprising rollers disposed within the vertical margins of said doorswhich shall be frictionally supported upon a track in full open andclosed position and capable of uninterrupted movement upon said rollersalong 25 said track to full open position to completely expose the dooropenings controlled by said doors. A further object is to providesliding car doors carrying rollers disposed within the vertical marginsthereof, said rollers being adapted tosupport 30 said doors for smoothunimpeded antifrictional movement upon tracks between full open andclosed positions, said tracks being constructed to frictionally supportthe weight of said doors in the full open and closed positions thereofso as to 35 relieve the rollers of such weight.

A further object is to provide sliding car doors carrying rollersdisposed within the vertical margins thereof, said rollers being adaptedto support said doors for smooth unimpeded antifrictional movement upontracks between full open and closed positions, said tracks beingprovided with coped portions or indentures adapted to receive therollers in full open and closed positions whereby said tracks willfrictionally support said doors and relieve the rollers of the weightthereof.

A further object is to provide sliding car doors carrying rollersdisposed within the vertical margins thereof, said rollers being adaptedto support said doors for smooth unimpeded antifrictional movement upontracks between full open and closed positions, said tracks furthercooperating with means provided on the doors to insure disposal of saidrollers in the coped portions or indentures provided in said tracks whenthe doors are in full open and in closed positions closed position andcapable of uninterrupted A further object is to provide sliding doorsfor railway house cars adapted to ported in full open be frictionallysupposition, said doors in the opening movement thereof being adapted toactuate starting means carried by said cars whereby said means isautomatically disposed to impart initial closing movement to said doors.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the descriptionthereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part of this specification Figure l is anelevation of a sliding car door embodying the invention, a part of saiddoor being broken away;

Figure 2 is a partial enlarged elevation of the lower portion of thedoor shown in Figure l, the

door being illustrated in partly open position with the weight thereofdisposed upon certain of the rollers Figure 3 is a view similar toFigure 2, the door being-shown in full open position;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line l-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical section Of Figure 1;

taken on line 5-5 Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 1;

Figure '7 is a partial plan view of the door track on an enlarged scale;

Figure 8 is a vertical section showing a modified form of the invention;

Figure '9 is a horizontal section of the form of the invention shown inFigure 8;

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the lower part of acar door showing a further modification of the invention;

Figure 11 is a View similar to Figure 10, showing the door in full openposition;

Figure 12 is a horizontal section taken on line l2-l2 of Figure 10; and

Figure 13 is a horizontal section taken on line l3l3 of Figure 11.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 to 7,inclusive, thereof which upon the side wall hangers l3 and I4, adaptedto support upon a track it ill by means of the roller the rollers l5 ofwhich are the door during movement secured to the side sill H by meansof a plurality of track brackets l8 riveted thereto. The door 12, whichis preferably of metallic construction, may comprise the horizontallydisposed corrugations I9 which merge at their ends into verticalcorrugations 28 and 2I formed in the door inwardly of the forward andrear vertical edges thereof. The lower portion of the door is retainedfor movement upon the track l6 and prevented from disengagementtherefrom by means of the upturned flanges 22 provided on the hangers i3and I4 which engage the depending flange 23 of the track IS. The upperportion of the door is retained upon the side wall I of the car by meansof the retaining plate 24 secured to the side plate 25 of the car andprovided with a depending flange 26 adapted to overlap the upper marginof the door. The side plate 25 is preferably provided with atroughshaped header 21 which is adapted to be overlapped by means of theinwardly extending flange 28 provided on the angle 29 secured to theupper margin of the door. In its closed position the door is adapted tobe secured to the side wall I0 by means of a locking device indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 36. The side wall is provided with anopening and closing arrangement comprising a bracket 3| secured to theside wall adjacent the door opening therein, an arm 32 pivotally carriedby said bracket and a starting and closing lever 33 pivotally carriedupon the door adjacent the forward margin thereof and adapted tocooperate with the bracket 3I to impart initial opening movement to thedoor and to cooperate with the arm 32 to impart final closing movementthereto.

It will be observed from Figures 1 and i of the drawings that the doorI2 in its closed position is frictionally supported upon the track I6.For this purpose the track I6 is provided with spaced apertures 34 and35, respectively, adapted to receive the rollers provided in the hangersI3 and I4 in the closed position of the door. While apertures are shownin the track IS in order to receive the rollers I of the hangers so thatthe door may be supported frictionally upon the track and said rollersrelieved of the weight of said door it will be readily apparent that theinvention is not limited to such apertures but that depressed portionsproviding indentures may as readily be utilized. As clearly shown inFigure '7 of the drawings, the aperture 34 provided in the track I6 isof greater extent longitudinally of the track than the aperture 35. Theelongated aperture 34 is provided in order to receive the plurality ofrollers i5 carried in the door hanger I3. By the provision of aplurality of rollers adjacent the forward vertical edge of the door itwill be manifest that when the weight of the door is disposed upon therollers said door may have smooth unimpeded movement upon said rollersalong the track I 6 to full open position so that the door opening iscompletely exposed in said position. With reference to Figure 2 of thedrawings, it will be observed that the door has been movedlongitudinally upon the track a sufficient distance to position theweight thereof upon one of the rollers in the hanger I3 and upon theroller in the hanger I4. This movement of the door is obtained byactuation of the lever 33 which cooperates with the bracket 3! to forcethe rollers out of the apertures 34 and 35 provided in the track and toelevate the door relative to the track for disposal upon the rollers.The right hand roller I5, as seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, ispositioned upon the track, whereas the left hand roller I5 of the hangeri3 is disposed above the aperture 34 in the track. Similiarly,

when the door is moved to full open position it will be apparent thatone of said rollers I5 of the hanger I3 will have engagement with thetrack when the other of said rollers may be positioned above theaperture 35. The forward por- 5 tion of the door, therefore, in itsmovement to full open position cannot be retarded by the aperture 35 sothat uninterrupted movement of the door to such position is obtained.When the door I2 has reached its full open position, as shown in Figure3 of the drawings, said door will engage stops, one of which isillustrated at 36, secured to the track 55 and the door opening I Idefined in part by the rear door post 3'! will be fully exposed. Inorder to insure reception of the rollers provided in the hangers I3 and!4 within the apertures 34 and 35 when the door assumes its closedposition the track is may be provided with embossments 38 and 39 whichare adapted to be engaged by the upstanding flanges 22 in order to'guide said rollers into said apertures.

Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings illustrate a modified form of theinvention. The door I2, adapted to close the door opening II provided inthe side wall III of the freight car, is supported for movement betweenfull open and closed positions by roller hangers upon a track 40 securedto track brackets 4i which, in turn, are fastened to the side sill I1.The hanger secured to the door I2 adjacent the rear vertical edgethereof is the same as the hanger I4 described in the previousembodiment of the invention. However, a hanger 42 is utilized in theinstant invention instead of the hanger I3 abovev described. The hanger42 is secured adjacent the front vertical edge of the door and isprovided with a plurality of rollers I5 disposed laterally relative toeach other rather than longitudinally as in the door hanger I3. Therollers I5 provided in the hanger 42 are mounted upon a pin or shaft 43and to increase the ease of rotation of said rollers roller bearings 44disposed between the pin 43 and the hubs of the rollers may be utilized.

In order that the door may be rictionally supported upon the track inits closed position spaced 5 apertures 45 and 4B are formed in saidtrack. The aperture 45 is of such size as to readily receive thelaterally disposed rollers I5 while the aperture 4B is of such size asto receive the single roller provided in the rear door hanger. Dur- 5ing the movement of the door 12 to its full open position it will beapparent from Figure 9 of the drawings and the relationship between therollers I5 provided in the hanger 42 and the disposition of theapertures 45 and 46 provided in the track 40 that the outermost rollerI5 will be supported upon the track at such time as the innermost rolleris disposed above the aperture 46. Consequently, in the instantinvention as well as in the embodiment of the invention heretofore de 0scribed, even though the hangers are positioned within the verticaledges of the door and the apertures provided in the track are inwardlyof the vertical margins of the door opening, the doors will have freeunimpeded movement to full 5 open position and in such position willfully expose the door opening. Embossments 41 and 48 are provided in thetrack 40 adjacent the apertures 45 and 46 formed therein and are adaptedfor engagement with the upwardly extending flanges 49 provided on thehanger 42 and the upwardly extending flange 22 provided on the hanger I4in order to guide the rollers into said apertures in the closed positionof the door.

The embodiments of the invention heretofore described relate to slidingdoors which, in their full open position, are supported by rollers uponthe track. If it is desired that the door in its full open position aswell as in its closed position be frictionally supported upon the trackthe embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 10 to 13,inclusive, of the drawings may be employed. In this embodiment of theinvention the door I2 is provided with a plurality of spaced hangers 59and 5! secured, respectively, within and adjacent the forward and rearvertical edges of the door. Each hanger is provided with a roller ill bymeans of which the door is adapted to have antifrictional movement upona track 52 between closed and full open positions. The hanger 5% as willbe manifest from Figure 12 of the drawings, is offset laterally withrespect to the hanger 5| or, in other words, the roller l5 provided inthe door hanger 59 extends outwardly away from the door to a greaterextent than the roller i5 provided in the door hanger 5! so that saidrollers are laterally offset relative to each other.

The door I? is adapted to be supported frictionally upon the track 52 inthe closed position thereof so that the weight of said door may be takenfrom the rollers I5. To this end the track 52 is provided with spacedapertures disposed within the vertical margins of the door opening I Idefined by the rear door post 3'5 and the front door post 53. Theseapertures 5 and 55, as more clearly shown in Figure 12 of the drawings,are laterally offset relative to each other to the same degree that therollers l5 are ofiset with respect to each other so that said rollerswill be received within said apertures in the closed position of thedoor. This disposal of he. rollers in said position of the door is aidedby the ooopera tion between the embossments Bil and 51 provided on thetrack and the upstanding flanges 58 and 59 provided on the hangers 553and 5!. In the closed position of the door, as shown in Figure 12 of thedrawings, the substantially channel-shaped member 60 secured to thefront margin of the door is adapted to cooperate with the angle stopmember 5! to exclude entry of the weather around the front margin of thedoor while this object is attained by the engagement between the sealingstrip 51-! secured to the rear margin of the door and the spark strip553 secured to the rear door post 3?. The door construction abovedescribed may, as well, be utilized in the forms of the inventionheretofore described.

By means of the starting and closing arrangement shown in Figure l ofthe drawings, longitudinal movement may be imparted to the door in orderto position the rollers 55 upon the track and transfer the weight of thedoor from the track directly to said rollers. The door may then be movedupon the rollers to the full open position shown in Figure 13 of thedrawings. This movement will be uninterrupted in view of the oifsetrelationship of the rollers l5 provided in the hangers 5B and iiipermitting the roller 15 of the hanger 59 to pass the aperture 55provided in the track 52 without dropping into said aperture. In itsfull open position the door is again supported frictionally upon thetrack For the attainment of this purpose the track 52 is provided withspaced apertures one of which is illustrated at s, these apertures beingrelated to each other in the same manner as the track apertures 54 and55 are related. Inasmuch as the roller l5 provided in the rear doorhanger 5! is offset inwardly relative to the roller 55 providedin thehanger 5i; and to the aperture 6 3 provided in the door track it will beapparent that said former roller will pass the aperture ti l in theopening movement of the door without being received therein. Therefore,the door and hanger arrangement of the instant embodiment of theinvention and the relationship thereof to the track and the aperturesprovided therein permits uninterrupted movement of said door upon thetrack between closed and full open positions and frictional support ofsaid door upon the track in said positions. Moreover, in its full openposition the door completely exposes the door opening H. Embossments 48are preferably utilized to guide the rollers into their correspondingtrack apertures in the full open position of the door.

When the door of the last described embodiment of the invention isutilized means may be provided in order to position said door upon therollers and out of frictional engagement with the track so that the doormay move easily to closed position. A preferred form of such means isillustrated in Figure 11 of the draw'mgs. In this figure the door isillustrated in full open position where it engages a plurality of stops,one of which is illustrated at 635 secured to the door track 52. Thestop 55 carries a lever 86 pivotally secured to said stop intermediatethe ends of said lever. The lever is provided with a cam portion 61lying in the path of opening movement of the door. In its inoperativeposition, as indicated in dot and dash lines in Figure 11, the lever ismaintained in the desired position by means of the engagement of a lug58 provided on the lever and the shoulder 69 formed on the stop 65.

It will be apparent that as the door approaches its full open position,the lever being in the position shown in dot and dash lines, the rearedge of the door will engage the lever at a point below its pivotalsupport upon the stop 65 and swing said lever to the position shown infull lines. The lever has thus, by the opening movement of the door,automatically assumed such position that the frictional support of thedoor upon the track. which has occurred in the opening movement of thedoor, may upon actuation ofv the lever be broken and a force imparted tothe door by such actuation which will force the rollers out of the trackapertures and transfer the weight of the door from the track directlyupon the rollers. The door may then readily be moved to its closedposition.

It is apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details ofthe invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended,therefore, that all such modifications and changes he comprehendedwithin this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of theclaims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In combination, a door having the normal width corresponding to thedoor opening controlled by said door, a track, spaced rollers sccured tosaid door within and adjacent the vertical edges thereof adapted tosupport said door for antifrictional movement upon said track, spacedapertures or indentures provided in said track adapted to receive saidrollers in the closed position of said door whereby said door isfrictionally supported by said track, said door being capable ofuninterrupted movement upon said track to full open position tocompletely expose the door opening controlled by said door.

2. In combination, a door having the normal width corresponding to thedoor opening controlled by said door, a track, spaced rollers secured tosaid door within and adjacent the vertical edges thereof adapted tosupport said door for antifri'ctional movement upon said track, spacedapertures or indentures provided in said track adapted to receive saidrollers in the closed position of said door whereby said door isfrictionally supported by said track, means carried by said door adaptedto engage embossments provided on said track to guide said rollers intosaid apertures, whereby said apertures may be of minimum width, saiddoor being capable of uninterrupted movement upon said track to fullopen position to completely expose the door opening controlled by saiddoor.

3. In a railway house car having a door opening, in combination, a doorfor closing said opening, a plurality of rolling means secured to saiddoor Within and adjacent to the forward vertical edge thereof, rollingmeans, one less in number than said first mentioned rolling means,secured Within and adjacent to the rear vertical edge of said door, atrack for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said car,an aperture provided in said track adapted to receive said firstmentioned rolling means and a spaced aperture provided in said trackadapted to receive said second mentioned rolling means in the closedposition of said door, said spaced aperture being incapable of receivingsaid first mentioned rolling means, whereby said door is frictionallysupported upon said track and capable of unimpeded movement upon saidtrack to full open position to completely expose said door opening.

4. In a railway house car having a door opening, in combination, a doorfor closing said opening, a plurality of longitudinally disposed rollingmeans secured to said door Within and adjacent to the forward verticaledge thereof, rolling means, one less in number than said firstmentioned rolling means, secured within and adja cent to the rearvertical edge of said door, a track for supporting said door forlongitudinal movement upon said car, an aperture provided in said trackadapted to receive said first mentioned rolling means and alongitudinally aligned spaced aperture provided in said track adapted toreceive said second mentioned rolling means in the closed position ofsaid door, said spaced aperture being incapable of receiving said firstmentioned rolling means, whereby said door is frictionally supportedupon said track and capable of unimpeded movement upon said track tofull open position to completely expose said door opening.

5. In a railway house car having a door opening, in combination, a doorfor closing said opening, a plurality of laterally disposed rollingmeans secured to said door within and adjacent to the forward verticaledge thereof, rolling means, one less in number than said firstmentioned rolling means, secured within and adjacent to the rearvertical edge of said door, a track for supporting said door forlongitudinal movement upon said car, an aperture provided in said trackadapted to receive said first mentioned rolling means and a spacedaperture provided in said track adapted to receive said second mentionedrolling means in the closed position of said door, said spaced aperturebeing incapable of receiving said first mentioned rolling means wherebysaid door is frictionally supported upon said track and capable ofunimpeded movement upon said track to full open position to completelyexpose said door opening.

6. In combination, in a railway freight car having a door opening, adoor therefor having the normal width corresponding to the door openingcontrolled by said door, spaced rollers fixedly secured to said dooragainst movement of translation relative thereto within and adjacent thevertical edges thereof, a stationary track carried by said car, saidrollers supporting said door for uninterrupted antifrictional movementupon said track, said door being frictionally supported upon said trackin closed and in full open positions and completely exposing said dooropening in the latter position.

7. In combination, in a railway freight car having a door opening, adoor thereforhaving the normal width corresponding to the door openingcontrolled by said door, spaced rollers secured to said door within andadjacent the vertical edges thereof, a track carried by said car, saidrollers supporting said door for uninterrupted antifrictional movementupon said track, spaced apertures provided in said track adapted toreceive said rollers in the full open and closed positions of said doorwhereby said door is frictionally supported upon the track, said doorcompletely exposing the door opening in the former position thereof,

8. In combination, in a railway freight car having a door opening, adoor therefor having the normal width corresponding to the door openingcontrolled by said door, spaced rollers secured to said door within andadjacent the vertical edges thereof, a track carried by said car, saidrollers supporting said door for uninterrupted antifrictional movementupon said track, spaced apertures provided in said track adapted toreceive said rollers in the full open and closed positions of said doorwhereby said door is frictionally supported upon the track, said doorcompletely exposing the door opening in the former position thereof, andmeans carried by said door adapted to engage members provided on saidtrack to guide said rollers into said apertures.

9. In combination, in a railway house car having a door opening, a doortherefor, a roller secured to said door within and adjacent the rearvertical edge thereof, a roller secured to said door within and adjacentthe forward vertical edge thereof, said rollers being offset laterallyrelative to each other, a track carried by said car, spacedcorrespondingly laterally oifset apertures provided in said track, saidrollers and apertures being related whereby said rollers support saiddoor for unimpeded movement upon said track between closed and full openpositions, said door opening being fully exposed in the latter positionof said door, said apertures receiving said rollers in said positionswhereby said door is frictionally supported upon said track.

10. In combination, in a railway house car having a door opening, a doortherefor, a roller secured to said door within and adjacent the rearvertical edge thereof, a roller secured to said door within and adjacentthe forward vertical edge thereof, said rollers being offset laterallyrelative to each other, a track carried by said car, spacedcorrespondingly laterally oifset apertures provided in said trackadapted to receive said rollers in the closed position of said door,said rollers supporting said door for uninterrupted movement upon saidtrack to full open position to completely expose the door opening.

11. In combination, in a railway house car having a door opening, a doortherefor, a roller secured to said door within and adjacent the rearvertical edge thereof, a roller secured to said door within and adjacentthe forward vertical edge thereof, said rollers being offset laterallyrelative to each other, a track carried by said car, spacedcorrespondingly laterally olfset apertures provided in said track, saidrollers and apertures being related whereby said roller supports saiddoor for unimpeded movement upon said track between closed and full openpositions, said door opening being fully exposed in the latter positionof said door, said apertures receiving said rollers in said positionswhereby said door is frictionally supported upon said track, and meanscarried by said door adapted to engage members provided on said track toguide said rollers into said apertures.

12. In combination, in a railway freight car having a door opening, adoor therefor, spaced rollers secured to said door within and adjacentthe vertical edges thereof, a track carried by said car, said rollerssupporting said door for uninterrupted antifrictional movement upon saidtrack, said door being frictionally supported upon said track in closedand in -iull open positions and completely exposing said door opening inthe latter position, and means adapted to dispose said door upon saidrollers for antifrictional movement upon said track to closed position,said means being actuated to operative position by the opening movementof said door.

13. In combination, in a railway house car having a door opening, a doortherefor, a roller'secured to said door within and adjacent the rearertioal edge thereof, a roller secured to said door within and adjacentthe forward vertical edge thereof, said rollers being offset laterallyrelative to each other, a track carried by said car, spacedcorrespondingly laterally ofiset apertures provided in said track, saidrollers and apertures being related whereby said roller supports saiddoor for unimpeded movement upon said track between closed and full openpositions, said door opening being fully exposed in the latter positionof said door, said apertures receiving said rollers in said positionswhereby said door is frictionally supported upon said track, and meanspivotally supported upon said oar adapted to dispose said door upon saidrollers for antifrictional movement to closed position, said means beingactuated to operative position by said door in the opening movementthereof.

14. In a railway house car having a door open ing, in combination, adoor for closing said opening, rolling means secured to said door withinand adjacent to the forward vertical edge thereof, rolling means securedwithin and adjacent to the rear vertical edge of said door, a track forsupporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said car, anaperture provided in said track adapted to receive said first mentionedrolling means and a spaced aperture provided in said track adapted toreceive said second mentioned rolling means in the closed position ofsaid door, said spaced aperture being incapable of receiving said firstmentioned rolling means, whereby said door is frictionally supportedupon said track and capable of unimpeded movement upon said track tofull open position to completely expose said door opening.

15. In a railway house car having a door opening, in combination, a doorfor closing said opening, a plurality of rolling means secured to saiddoor adjacent to the forward vertical margin thereof, rolling means, oneless in number than said first mentioned rolling means, secured adjacentto the rear vertical edge of. said door, a track for supporting saiddoor for longitudinal movement upon the car, an aperture provided insaid track adapted to receive said first mentioned rolling means and aspaced aperture provided in said track adapted to receive said secondmentioned rolling means but incapable of receiving said first mentionedrolling means in the closed position of said door, whereby said door isfrictionally supported upon said track and capable of unimpeded movementupon said track to full open position to completely expose said dooropening.

16. In combination, in a railway house car having a door opening, a doortherefor, a roller secured to said door adjacent to the rear verticaledge thereof, a roller secured to said door adjacent to the forwardvertical edge thereof, said rollers being oifeet laterally relative toeach other, a track carried by said car, spaced corr spondinglylaterally offset apertures provided in said track adapted to receivesaid rollers in the closed position of said door, said rollerssupporting said door for uninterrupted movement upon said track to fullopen position to completely expose the door opening. THORVALD MADLAND.

